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The two chambers are equal (perfect bicameralism). This power-sharing system prevents monopolization of federal politics by more populated cantons to the detriment of smaller and rural cantons. Members of both houses serve for 4 years and only serve as members of parliament part-time (so-called "Milizsystem" or Citizen legislature). [8]
The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, [6] was a loose confederation of independent small states (cantons, German Orte or Stände [7]), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerland.
The rise of Switzerland as a federal state began on 12 September 1848, with the creation of a federal constitution in response to a 27-day civil war, the Sonderbundskrieg. The constitution, which was heavily influenced by the United States Constitution and the ideas of the French Revolution , was modified several times during the following ...
The Federal Assembly is made up of two chambers: the National Council, with 200 seats; and; the Council of States, with 46 councillors. Seats in the National Council are allocated to the cantons proportionally, based on population. In the Council of States, every canton has two seats (except for the former "half-cantons", which have one seat each).
This is a list of political parties in Switzerland. Switzerland has a multi-party system . Since 1959, the four largest parties have formed a coalition government , according to a Zauberformel or " magic formula ".
Switzerland relied on trade for half of its food and essentially all of its fuel, but controlled vital trans-alpine rail tunnels between Germany and Italy. Switzerland's most important exports during the war were precision machine tools, watches, jewel bearings (used in bombsights), electricity, and dairy products.
Switzerland is geographically divided among the Swiss Plateau, the Alps and the Jura; the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, whereas most of the country's nearly 9 million people are concentrated on the plateau, which hosts its largest cities and economic centres, including Zurich, Geneva, and Lausanne.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Switzerland: Switzerland – alpine country in Central Europe, located mostly in the Alps. Switzerland is the oldest neutral country in the world; it has not fought a foreign war since its neutrality was established by the Treaty of Paris in 1815.